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FAQs

What is Service Continuity Planning?
A service continuity plan is designed to help organizations maintain their critical services in the event of an emergency/crisis. The purpose of the plan is to ensure an organization can continue delivering their most important services regardless of the circumstances.

A service continuity plan requires organizations to prioritize their services and develop strategies to deal with emergencies. Advance planning in advance allows decisions to be made thoughtfully, while not under the stress of a given crisis.

Which types of organizations need a service continuity plan?
All organizations need a plan to deal with disasters. Disasters affect all organizations and everyone needs to be prepared. Depending on your organization, your plan may be to maintain only a part of your services or to shut down services during an emergency and contribute other assets to an emergency response. Developing a plan will help identify what is most important to your organization. Whatever your plan encompasses, it is vital that everyone is ready for crisis.

Why is Service Continuity Planning important?
Voluntary sector organizations are the lifeline for thousands of high-risk populations. In the event of an emergency, clients will look to you for help. It is essential that, as an organization, you are able to provide services even in times of crisis. A good service continuity plan will ensure that you are ready for all types of emergencies so you can focus on helping your clients in need. This contributes to an overall emergency response and assures the safety of high-risk populations.

What kind of disasters will service continuity protect me from?
There is no way to anticipate every type of disaster. However, a comprehensive plan will help you deal with most types of disasters. We encourage organizations to think of a health emergency scenario when coming up with a plan. Health emergencies are among the most complex disaster situations. Considering such an emergency will help you deal with difficult questions to create a solid plan. It is important to remember that your plan must be revisited and updated periodically as your organization changes and grows.

Do I need a different plan for each different type of disaster?
Not necessarily, as different disasters may have similar impacts on your organization, and thus a similar plan or approach would make sense. However we encourage you to initially analyze different types of disasters separately to ensure that your plan is complete.

How often do I need to update my plan?
A good practice is once per year. However, please consider your plan as a living document and update it as needed, particularly when there is an organizational change, such as personnel, services and clients, etc.

Does a good service continuity plan cost a lot of money?
The commitment of your organization is the most important first step.

Service continuity planning does take some time, money and effort, depending on the needs and size of your organization. Its important to be realistic about what you can accomplish in a given period of time, and also to use the resources you have available to you (such as the tools we have provided) to start developing a plan.

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